The one person you meet in Hell
by xxxDITHxxx
Summary: I speak from experience when I tell you that death is not a pleasant incident. I know what you are thinking: Death is not a happy time for anyone. Your family is sad because you are no longer around and you are not happy because you have just died. But the part I am talking about is the afterwards for you. After you are dead what happens then. Some people say...(read to know more)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N****:** Hello everyone! This is xxxDITHxxx's friend again! . I got the idea from the book The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I have never read this book but it got me thinking about who you would meet if you did not go to heaven. Anyway I hope you like it and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins does. I do not own The Five People You Meet in Heaven, either. I only own an interesting mind.

"I want to go where everyone goes, I want to know what everyone knows, I want to go where everyone feels the same." -That Green Gentleman, Panic! at the Disco

I speak from experience when I tell you that death is not a pleasant incident. I know what you are thinking: Death is not a happy time for anyone. Your family is sad because you are no longer around and you are not happy because you have just died. But the part I am talking about is the afterwards for you. After you are dead what happens then. Some people say you go to the castle in the clouds and others say that you go to the place where it is hot. What about the time in between? How is it decided where you will spend the rest of your life? The matter is not something to be taken lightly.

Many people say death is painless. This all depends on how you die. I had the bad luck to have to go the hard way. My death was pain and misery and I suffered greatly. Once you have moved on from the mortal world, you feel as if you are asleep. When you wake up, you feel rather warm. Like the sun is shining on you. Yet you are not oppressively hot, there is something like a cool breeze blowing against your skin. Where you open your eyes to depends on your life. It varies from person to person. If you die with someone, he or she will be there when you wake up. So you better be sure that you like this person because you will both have to get tried at the same time.

I died with my best friends in the whole world, Katniss Everdeen. So, as I have previously told you, I awoke to my new life with. I sat up and spun my head from left to right, trying to figure out where I was exactly. It seemed to me that I was lying, or sitting now, on the television stage in the Capitol where Caesar Flickerman had introduced the tributes. I knew that I was dead but waking up here made me think twice for a minute. Then I noticed that the seats, where the Capitol people sat, were empty. I heard Katniss groan and felt her sit up next to me. Her head turned in my perphial vision. She was clearly as confused as I was about where we were. "Finnick?" I hear her ask.

I turned away from the lights that were blinding me. "No," I answered "I'm Gale." I looked over at her in surprise. Why does she think that I am Finnick? I don't even look like him. But she isn't looking at me. She's looking at the chair that Flickerman would normally sit in.

"Shut up. I know that you are Gale." She reaches behind her and lightly swatted in my general direction. Then she turned back to the chair. "That is Finnick." I look and sure enough Finnick Odair is lounging across it. One of his legs is hiked up over the arm of it. The other is sprawled out in front of him as if waiting for someone to trip over it. In one hand, he loosely holds his trident. A sad smile plays across his face.

"Hello Katniss. Hello Gale. I didn't think we would meet again so soon. But here we all are. Actually, it really makes me sad that I have met you again." He stands up and stretches, pushing his arms up over his head. I see Katniss tense up and move to stand, too. Finnick continues on, "Welcome to Nowhere. This means that you are not in heaven, not in hell. This is where all of your past deeds get revisited and evaluated. You will travel back as two separate people and you will be evaluated as two separate people. If your paths cross, then well congratulations. After each time lapse, you will come back here and review what you have just seen." He sounded like he was trying to recite something he had memorized.

"So you got stuck with this job, huh? It sounds like it kind of sucks. You know having to force people to relive bad memories," I comment. I shake my head a bit. Trying to clear it out so that I can figure out exactly what Finnick is saying.

He shook his head. "No, I volunteered to do this for both of you. You guys are my friends and I wanted to make sure you met someone you knew when you woke up." As an after though he added, "You guys were asleep for about two weeks… Oh, damn, I forgot! If you go to hell, you have to live with one person for the rest of your life. If you go to heaven, you have to live with a whole bunch of people. The people in heaven are very nice I'm told. I went to hell because of some things I did."

Katniss was putting a lot of effort into trying to figure out who this one person in hell was. I could tell by the look on her face. "The devil?" She took a wild shot in the dark for that one. Finnick shook his head no.

"Don't bother trying to guess. It won't come to you." He turns out to face the empty audience. When he turns back he looks worried. "Have… have you seen Annie?"

"Oh. Yes. She's fine. Or as fine as she could ever be under the circumstances," Katniss shrugged. Finnick opened his mouth to ask another question, but she cut him off. "No, I'm sorry. We weren't alive long enough to hear about your child. I do know that she was due any day." She took another look at his face and apologized in a softer tone.

For the first time since we arrived, I really looked at Finnick. He looked tired and really depressed. He had dark circles underneath his eyes. His normally bright, blue eyes appeared lifeless. I felt his pain. Poor Finnick had lost everything he had ever loved. And poor Annie had lost the one person who had kept her sane. I was very grateful for Katniss's presence at that moment. She must have been thinking the same thing because when I looked at her she gave me a shaky smile.

Finnick sighed and managed to pull himself together for a little bit longer. "Well, back to the topic at hand. You both have to travel back through your memories. Blah- blah- blah. Point being is that what happened to you while you were alive will determine where you will live for the rest of your existence. Get it?" Katniss and I nodded in the affirmative.

"Wait, wait, wait! Going back to review our lives? Will that hurt at all?" I spoke up.

"No, it doesn't hurt physically. But some of the things may mentally hurt. Like living parts of the Games again may hurt," Finnick concluded. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Katniss wince. I wish I had time to worry about her. I really did. But I had my own memories to worry about. Katniss knew that and besides, she was strong.

"Well," Katniss visibly looked shaken. I watched in sadness as she gulped. "I guess this is it then." She sounded sort of sad. "I may never see you again, Gale."

I had not thought of that aspect. "I'll see you Catnip. Our paths cross a lot." She shrugged. "This is it. The fate of Panem in a handful of berries."

"Not this time, Gale," Katniss pointed out. "This is the future of us in the hands of Finnick Odair. Scary." I nodded.

"Then let's begin," Finnick sighed and moved toward us. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Katniss say, "I love you Gale Hawthorne."

**thingy at the bottom-** The flashbacks will be a little bit from THG series and a little bit of my own tailoring. So I'm sorry if the characters seem OOC. Again R&R! You should listen to Hero by Family of the Year. It seems that it could be Gale's song to Katniss.^_^


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **

I forgot to thank xxxDITHxxx for putting this story up for me. But I will now. Thanks Dith! Better late than never. So without furthere ado here is chapter two.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.

"It's always the same, sad story again, you lose all your friends, that's the thing about trust." -Trust, Neon Trees

**Chapter Two: The Memory of Catnip**

"Then let's begin," Finnick sighed and moved toward us. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Katniss say, "I love you Gale Hawthorne."

I watched many memories whiz past my eyes, like someone hit fast-forward on my life. The memories started to slow down around the time of my dad's death. They came to a halt the first time I met Katniss in the woods.

I tried to tread across the forest floor as quietly as I could. But it is not eacy especially because every small noise in the woods has me thinking that there is a Peacekeeper right behind me. That I will be arrested and maybe even killed for poaching. So you can probably imagine my surprise when I was checking my snares and found a little girl.

She was sitting back on her calves looking at my trap. She had long brown hair that was tied up in a braid. Lying next to her on the ground was a bow. A quiver of arrows was slung over her shoulder. I watched in horror as her hand reached out to touch the squirrel that had been caught in one of the snares. She was going to steal it!

I stepped out into the clearing. Some leaves crunched under my feet as I walked. The girls shot up so fast that my mind didn't even register it at first. The next thing I know she had an arrow pointed at my chest. "Hey! Are you stealing from my traps," I exclaim.

She lifter her chin up at me defiantly. "No," she proclaimed in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Well, what are you doing then? You little thief!" I was absolutely sure that this girl was lying to me. I mean what else could she be doing? It never occurred to me that she was merely just being curious.

"I'm looking." She never lowered her bow the entire time she was speaking to me. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the girls was from the Seam. She had the trademark grey eyes, soot- covered clothes, and look of hunger.

"Why are you out here? Is your family okay with this? You are just a kid." I was very confused as to why such a small girl would be doing outside the safety of District Twelve.

My dad used to take me out here before he died. My mom isn't doing anything to keep us alive. She just sits in a corner and pines over the loss of my dad most days. My sister is four years younger than me. We are both on our way to starvation. This is the only way for me to feed them. And for your information I am twelve years old. Old enough to be reaped, so I'm not that little." I was only able to catch about half of what she said because she was still whispering.

"Alright. That seem okay. I'm out here for the same reason. Except I'm a bit older than you. I'm fourteen so to me you do seem like a little kid. My mom is fine, though, and I have three siblings who are all a lot younger than me." She nodded and lowered her bow. The arrow fell to the ground and she picked it up. "What's your name," I asked?

"Katniss." Still mumbling girl, I thought to myself.

"Catnip? What a weird name," I noted. "My name is Gale." I stuck out my hand to shake. She put her hands behind her back stubbornly.

"No," she said in a slightly louder and more determined voice. "I said Katniss. Like the plant." I put my hands up in a surrender motion. Then, she pulled her hands from behind her back and we shook.

The images of my life began to speed up again. They did not go as long as the first time. Mainly because this was just a little time lapse as opposed to one of fourteen years. Pretty soon they stopped. Katniss and I were outside the Hob. We had just left. Neither one of us were very happy with the other. We had just finished haggling over the price we should sell a squirrel for. I said we sold it too low; she said too high. Looking in on it now, I notice we both have the same expression on.

We stomped on down in the road in silence for about another quarter of a mile. Katniss had a thinking expression on her face. Several times she opened her mouth as if to talk. Finally I turned to be and snapped, "Spit it out already!"

Her mouth snapped shut and she glared at me. She obviously wanted to tell me whatever was on her mind because after a while she spoke, "I was just thinking. Maybe we shouldn't fight over who gets what and what we should sell it for. Maybe we should work out some prices for things that we can both agree on. Split our kills 40-60, you know. Start to help each other out instead of fighting all of the time. "

I cut her off angrily, "What?! You get the biggest share! You little-"

"No!" she exclaimed. "I was going to give you the bigger half. Because you have five people to feed as opposed to three. But if you're going to be like that we can break off our partnership right now."

I was taken back at her statement. I figuratively took a step back to examine our relationship. Katniss and I were starving. In more than one way. We both craved food and companionship. We shared a common cause: keeping our families alive. I may not have realized it before now, but we were already on our way to becoming the same person. If our partnership broke off, it would be that much harder to find food for our families.

"No," I sighed. "That seems fair. You clearly put a lot of thought into this. I'm sorry for freaking out at you."

"That's okay. I understand," she responded. We both continued walking down the road in silence. Pretty soon we arrived at the point where I turned left and she went right. "So. Tomorrow is a new day. What do you think about starting over?" As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes dropped to the ground.

"Yeah. That sounds good to me. We will work on trading and helpfulness tomorrow," I agreed. She said goodbye and I gave her a little wave. I stood at the corner and watched her go. She seemed a little bit happier at the prospect of a new beginning. I guess I was too. Mainly I was just glad that all of this squabbling would come to an end. Maybe there was a chance that I could make a friend after all.

Katniss turned around right before she disappeared from view. I saw her hand come up into a wave. I mouthed back to her, "Bye Catnip."

And so with a somewhat lighter heart and a small smile on my face I headed home. I knew that there was another feeling mixed in there. One I had never felt before. I managed to get all the way to my house before I figured out what it was. That new feeling was hope.

All of a sudden I feel a tug in my mind. The memory clouds over and seems to merge into a haze. Then, I am prying my eyes open to look at the ceiling of the stage. I hear Finnick's voice float over to me. "That is not supposed to happen."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Thanks to Dith! And everyone who reviewed this so far! I started writing this chapter with no idea what the flashback would be. So sorry if it seems random. It is more of a filler before the games start. And I'm very sorry for this taking so long to get up.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own THG, Sadly**

"**There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for."- "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" by Panic! At the Disco**

**Chapter Three: The Mistake**

I sit up to see Finnick gaping at Katniss and me. "That's not supposed to happen," he repeats. Katniss is getting to her feet rubbing a spot on her head.

"You could have warned me that I would fall over when I went back," she groaned. "And what exactly is not supposed to happen?" She decides that standing is not the best idea and sinks back down to the ground. She leans back against the chair that the tributes normally sit in. She winces a bit when her head touches the seat.

"You two should have had some memories before you met. There should have been something before then." He looks pretty shell-shocked. "I don't know how to deal with this sort of thing. That's not supposed to happen." I sigh because I think we all get it. Finnick, I think, we get it. Our memories are funked up.

"Maybe it's because neither of us had a life before our dads dies. I can't speak for Katniss but I know that before that I point I had not had to make any life altering decisions," I offer. I hear Katniss snort and I turn to look at her. "It's true. You know it is."

"Yeah. I know. That's what makes it so funny." Before she turns away from me I catch a slight smile cross her face. I grin and turn back to Finnick. He still looks a little shaken. Then he shakes his head.

"I'm going to not be concerned about that or at least pretend that I am not concerned. We have to keep moving with the procedure," Finnick sighs. "Why do you think that memory was important to finding out where you will be placed for the rest of your life?"

Katniss and I glance at each other and then she starts to speak. "I think it was important because that was the first time I met Gale." She turns her head to look at me. "I don't know about you, but that's when I first thought that I could stay alive. The second memory got mixed in with the first because that was when we first agreed that we should start working together."

It takes me a few moments, then I realize that she is done talking. "Oh. I'd have to agree with Katniss. We have spent so much time together that the first time we met would clearly be relevant."

Finnick nods. "That makes sense." He gazes off into space for a moment longer. The he says, "Let's see what else is relevant in your lives." Finnick proceeds to move toward us and my mind goes dark.

I "wake up" on Katniss' front porch. Katniss stood against the railing. Her arms crossed over her chest. A horrible anger ran through my veins. I remember this memory. This is not one of my proudest moments.

I am about seventeen years old which would make her out to be about fifteen. "Maybe we should not be friends anymore. I mean you can't keep going around acting like this. Its... its... urgh!" She threw her hands up in the air. She turned away from me and I watched her back for a few moments.

"Maybe we should stop our friendship here. Especially if you keep on harping at me like this," I added. I knew that crack about her harping at me would push her over the edge. Before she could retaliate I continued on. " I make one little mistake and suddenly everyone is on my case about it."

She turns around to face me so fast I almost can't see it. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "That so called mistake could have cost you, us, our families lives." I tuned her out and thought back to yesterday when the "mistake" happened.

I had been talking to Katniss at school. Without realizing it I had gone into one of my rants about the Capitol. About how everything was so unfair to the districts. Especially District 12, especially the Seam. Then I had accidently mouthed off about President Snow. I hadn't meant to say it. The words just kind of flowed out of my mouth and kept on running. Even after I had said it. Even when Katniss gave me a look of pure horror. Before I could take back what I had said, one of the teachers had materialized out of nowhere. This particular teacher was very much in favor of what the Capitol was doing. Needless to say she was very mad at me. Katniss gaped at me the entire time.

As she dragged me to the principal's office, she quivered with rage. I was already having a pretty bad day so when this woman starts in on me I can't hold back. I started to yell back at her. It never occurred to me exactly what I was doing. I finished my spiel, chest heaving from the effort.

The next thing that I knew, I was in the Justice Building being confronted by Mayor Undersee. I must have said some bad stuff. Or was this just about me bad mouthing the Capitol? It took me about five minutes to figure out that I had slipped up in my rage and blurted out something about poaching. Oh man. This was really really really bad. I explained to that Mayor that we didn't really hunt. We were both terrified of what was outside the fence. That I was giving an example of what might happen to people who were desperate for food.

Of course the mayor knew this was false. I mean we sell him strawberries and those do not grow inside the fence. He let me go with a stern lecture on keeping my mouth shut. I guess he really likes those berries.

Naturally Katniss was furious with me. She had a right to be. The part that annoyed me to death was the fact that she could not seem to let it go.

On the porch she turned back to face the street. "Look. You should go. I don't really want to talk to you right now. Or for a while for that matter." I thought she might say more but she didn't.

She never turned around as I got up and walked down the stairs. I didn't turn back at the end of her street. If I knew Katniss at all she was not looking at me either.

We didn't talk for the rest of the week. In fact, our silence was hostile. Every time we saw each other at school or around the Seam, we glared until one of us had to break eye contact. I didn't realize how much our paths crossed until we tried to keep out of the others way. And heaven forbid we got close enough to trip or bump into each other. It got pretty bad. Then Saturday came around.

It was the one day that, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't ignore the other. I wasn't entirely sure what to do. Normally, I would wake up and meet Katniss in the woods. But since there was an all-out no talking war between us that did not seem to be the right thing to do. I finally decided that what would happen would happen. And we would have to take it.

I left my house at the usual time. I was able to make it all the way to the woods without seeing , just as I was about to leave our usual meeting spot, I looked back. Katniss was standing about twenty feet away at the head of the path we always take. She and I locked eyes for a minute.

I could tell, just by looking at her, that she wasn't sorry for yelling at me. She knew that I knew that I deserved that. Katniss wanted us to put the last week behind us and move forward with our lives. As friends. At long last she said, "Are you coming or are you going to just waste the day standing there, Gale?"

A smile broke out across my face. She smiled back. "I'm coming," I answered. "I wasn't headed in the right direction anyways." The moment that I began to follow her, I knew that everything was going to be ok. That, even though we may get into fights every so often, we will always return to normal eventually.


End file.
